Information for Parents

Registration Information

Your student can learn about the trip option in the Trips Page, and choose their top choices. In the registration form you will have the opportunity to rank your top choices. Trip assignments are given on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early!

If your student has not yet registered for a trip, make sure to follow the registration links on the main page. You need to complete both the REGISTRATION and the HEALTH & DIET QUESTIONNAIRE for your registration to be considered.

Within two weeks of submitting your registration and health & diet questionnaire, you will receive a trip placement notification including a financial aid award (if applicable)

We work with the college’s financial aid office in conjunction with your FAFSA information to determine eligibility for aid. Aid is awarded on a sliding scale based on financial need. Specific questions about aid eligibility should be directed to the College Outdoors office at (503)-768-7116 or outdoors@lclark.edu

To confirm your registration, please follow the link to pay digitally on the confirmation email, or mail us a paper check by the payment deadline.

Fill out remaining paperwork, which is available on each trip’s webpage:

Acknowledgment & Assumption of Risk Form (must be signed by parent/guardian if your student is under 18)

Equipment Request Form

Travel Form

Review the trip information pages with detailed trip descriptions, recommended packing lists, and logistics information (click on the trip name in the table below to get to each page).

Getting your student to Lewis & Clark

Your student should plan to arrive between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM the day their trip starts. If you are purchasing a plane ticket, make sure the flight is scheduled to land in Portland by 11:00 AM, and we will provide a shuttle to Lewis & Clark. More info can be found on the Pre & Post Trip Logistics page.

You are welcome to drop your student off on the day their trip starts, and we will store all their luggage and supplies for college while they are on the trip. For 2017, the Corbett House, at Gate 7 on the Graduate Campus, is where you’ll drop them, and where we’ll store their luggage for their dorm room until they return from their trip. However, the optional parent portion of New Student Orientation is after students return from trips and move in to their dorms, so some parents choose to join their kids (often with a carload of stuff) when the students return from the trip on the evening of Aug. 29th, 2017.

While your student is on their trip

We very much encourage “wilderness” experiences while students are out on their New Student Trip (NST), and subsequently, we request all cell phones and most electronic devices be turned off and stored for the duration of the trip. In many cases the trip leaders will collect phones keeping them in a secure place. Getting away from technology helps facilitate group bonding and integration. We assure you we are taking good care of your student. Students usually get access to their phones en route back to campus as their trip returns. This is the best time to start coordinating where to meet as their trip returns. If students like to take pictures, we encourage them to bring a separate camera, though we usually have a trip camera on every trip as you can see from our Flickr page.

Our programs all follow risk management protocols. Our trip leaders are all members of the Lewis & Clark community. Most of them are current students or recent alumni, and all of our trip leaders are certified in Wilderness First Responder—the outdoor industry standard for wilderness medical response. We have an on-call system should there be any medical or safety concerns on our trips. This whole system can be greatly supported by both you and your student thoroughly completing the health & diet questionnaire. We thank you in advance for supporting this process.

Once your student gets back

Students are involved with trip cleanup. Therefore, they may not be immediately available when their trip gets back to campus. Please allow an hour or more of trip cleanup before trying to reconnect with your student.

Trip clean-up does not impact participation in on campus New Student Orientation (NSO). New Student Orientation officially kicks off at 4pm on Wednesday giving parents and students plenty of time to get settled into campus before the activities of NSO begin. Check the New Student Orientation website for further details.

The best place to meet your student once they return is outside of their residence hall. They should be headed to their residence hall with their group after cleaning up. A cargo van will deliver their luggage and dorm room supplies from where it is stored to their residence hall. It’s a tradition that everyone on the trip helps each student move in; that way they all know where they live on campus.

NSTs (New Student Trips) are great ways to make friends prior to New Student Orientation. These new friendships are great for the students, but sometimes it’s a surprise for the parents. Suddenly, your student may not be as excited to see you as they are to spend time with their new friends exploring campus or Portland! This is a really good sign that your student will transition to college smoothly, but it also means your son or daughter may not be as eager to hang out with you after their trip. Just prepare yourself for this as your child travels on their path to become an independent adult. No college students usually turn down a meal at a restaurant, though, so that may be the best way to get the attention of your student again, and perhaps meet some of their friends in the process.